Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Part 1 - To Kill A Cie’th, Damn Status Effects!
Some basics tips included. For example, the reasons for my character/monster setup and why I choose the particular location for grinding in the video. Also, some first impressions and commentary on certain aspects of the game.
Disclaimer: This is not, nor will be, a full playthrough of Final Fantasy XIII-2.
Background: Ran into a nasty Cie’th for a quest in Yaschas Massif AF1X the previous time I played. Status effects are crazy! I wanted to beat him so I went searching for a Grind/Farm spot to level up my characters and monsters. You know what? I in fact discovered one.
Once I was satisfied with my character growth I try to take on the Cie’th once more.
Basically after beating Skyward Sword you are able to start a second playthrough that is a lot harder. I’m very excited about this. I will record a full playthrough of this and upload to youtube.
A full normal mode playthough just does not seem as interesting to me since most people will be playing the game in that mode anyway. I will still capture any interesting side quests or heart container locations as well as first impressions of the game.
Enemies do double damage
There are no heart drops or heart flowers (unless you have a particular medal equipped which gives you a very small chance of getting a heart drop)
The Sheikah Stone gives you all the hint clips from the beginning
A bunch of NPCs acknowledge the fact that you’re playing in Hero Mode and let you skip certain tutorials/explanations
Good stuff though. Especially about the double damage and no heart drops. If you do not already know, Skyward Sword enemies take off a minimum of one heart damage. This is unlike in past 3D Zelda games where enemies would deal a quarter to a half heart of damage. The damage dealt to Link in Skyward Sword is so much greater than previous Zelda games that you start out with 6 hearts instead of the standard 3. The minimum health was changed to keep the early game balanced and feel the same as earlier Zelda games, but also allow the game to remain somewhat of a challenge as you gain more heart containers.
One of the problem of enemies taking a quarter heart of damage in past Zelda games is, while the early game felt fine in difficulty, the later parts became trivial at about 12+ hearts. Thus there is no incentive of getting 20 hearts, unless you are a completionist or beating Cave of Ordeals in Twilight Princess.
Also, there is no ability to pause the action via opening menus like in past Zelda games. Selecting items and potions in your inventory is done in real time.
Speaking of potions, the game does not freeze enemies during the drink animation. Therefore, drinking a potion is risky because you are venerable to enemy attacks.
There is an item upgrade system and potion crafting in Skyward System, so this Hero Mode could prove to add quite amount more depth and replay value to the game.
There is so much potential in hero mode to make it more challenging. For example, since there is no heart drops, you could do a one heart (take damage until you are at one heart) and no potion challenge with no deaths. Stuff like that.
Just waiting for activation to start making money on my videos. Just to let everyone know I do playthroughs videos and tips for select games I play. All videos have live commentary that serve as impressions and review of the game. I also discuss the game design philosophies as well the gaming industry if I find something in the game that may be relevant.
I have a rough schedule in place for videos… .
October 25 - 31 : Kirby’s Return to Dreamland (Wii)
October 25 - onward: Battlefield 3 (PC). I will be uploading select multiplayer sessions
November 1 - 10: Uncharted 3 and Sonic Generations and maybe Lord of the Rings: War of the North (PS3).
November 11 - onward - Skyrim (PC). Know way can I do a full playthrough a week. I will play select sections of the game and show off quests, character builds, and mods.
November 20 - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I expect to get a lot of views from this playthrough.
I still need to finish uploading my Deus Ex playthrough. Had to put it on halt because Youtube has been screwy with upload errors and such for the past month and a half. I’m almost done with the game. I just need to upload footage sitting on my harddrive plus I have a ton of parts just sitting in private until I am done. What happened was I would upload footage and it will error out, or complete and not show up. So yeah, that is the reason my Deus Ex playthrough looks incomplete.
My name is Dave. I'm aspiring to be a Video Game Designer. Lived in Maryland for most of my life. Currently reside in Greenbelt, MD.
My interest are games, World of Warcraft, The Legend of Zelda, poker, science, mathematics, socionics, animals, television, music, comics, and humor.
I am for equality and fairness for all no matter of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, culture and economic background. I encourage tolerance and understanding of those that differ myself and others.
